Political Member, Connecticut & District of Member, Connecticut State Senate, 1957-61; Minority Leader, 1959-61; Member 87th and 88th Congress, member Committee on Interstate & Foreign Commerce, Subcommittees on Transportation & Aeronautics and Communications and Power; Congressional delegate to U.N. Internation Communications Convention, Geneva; Member, Republican Congressional Campaign Committee; Member, Platform Committee Republican National Convention, 1964; (Excerpt from Public Law 92-261-Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972) Sec. 8(e) (1) *** "(b)(1) There shall be a General Counsel of the Commission appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of four years. The General Counsel shall have responsibility for the conduct of litigation as provided in sections 706 and 707 of this title. The General Counsel shall have such other duties as the Commission may prescribe or as may be provided by law and shall concur with the Chairman of the Commission on the appointment and supervision of regional attorneys. The General Counsel of the Commission on the effective date of this Act shall continue in such position and perform the functions specified in this subsection until a successor is appointed and qualified. "(2) Attorneys appointed under this section may, at the direction of the Commission, appear for and represent the Commission in any case in court, provided that the Attorney General shall conduct all litigation to which the Commission is a party in the Supreme Court pursuant to this title." (The complete text of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended through March 24, 1972, appears as an appendix to this hearing.) The CHAIRMAN. I think a statement here from the chairman order on this very important nomination that is before our comm When we adopted the Equal Employment Opportunity En ment Act of 1972, which gave the Commission the power to enforcement actions directly in the Federal district courts, we elevated the position of General Counsel of the EEOC. Under the provisions of that act, the General Counsel is now pointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Se for a term of 4 years. This action reflects the important and vita that the Congress has assigned to that position at the EEOC. Prior to 1972, the Commission did not have the power to enfor own findings of employment discrimination. When the Commission's informal efforts at conciliation faile could either recommend the case to the Department of Justice enforcement, or turn it back to the individual who had brought charge for private enforcement. Neither alternative fully served Government's vital interest in eliminating employment discrimina Accordingly, in 1972, we adopted major amendments to title VI the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which authorized the EEOC to directly in Federal district court to seek enforcement of violation equal employment opportunity law. The responsibility for initiating and maintaining these laws has specifically been assigned to the General Counsel in section 705 of that act. Since March 1972, the General Counsel has brought approxima 700 cases to the Commission for action, of which 464 have actually b filed in court. The Office of General Counsel has an authorized strength of lawyers. Of these, approximately 200 are trial lawyer positions. Gi the 464 cases actually filed, this accounts for significantly less than t cases per lawyer over the last 3 years. While I am sympathetic to the need for careful and complete c development, I do feel that a greater effort must be made to incre the General Counsel's enforcement activities. By authorizing significant increases in the General Counsel's bud and staff, Congress has manifested its desire that the Commission mo quickly and decisively with its new enforcement powers. It was, therefore, disappointing to me that the Office of Gener Counsel did not file its first lawsuit until 7 months after adoption the enforcement powers. I know that you were not at the Commission at this time, but I want to stress to you the importance that I assign to effective enfor ment of the law. And for enforcement to have the desired impac there has to be a widely felt governmental presence and the knowled that violations will be pursued to the full extend of the law. Also, in this same vein, I would like to stress that the Commission enforcement activities should provide relief to as many aggrieve individuals as possible, given the Commission's resources. Accordingly, I hope that as General Counsel, you will insure tha all of the Commission's enforcement is not concentrated only on bring ing the large and expansive class action lawsuits. The single person who is discriminated against, or the small grou of employees of a small employer are equally deserving of the Gov ernment's protection. The Office of General Counsel will certainly be pivotal during the next months as many crucial issues relating to the development of equal employment opportunity law will be before the courts. Not only procedural issues, but significant questions as to the scope of title VII, are arising in the Federal courts with increasing frequency. The General Counsel, working in close cooperation with the new Chairman of the Commission and the other Commissioners, will have to provide the legal guidance and operational unity to the Commission's legal efforts during this crucial developmental period. I hope, Mr. Sibal, that with your able leadership, and by working closely with the legal staff of the agency, many of whom I know are experienced and able civil rights lawyers, you will bring title VII to the full prominence that it deserves. You will, thereby, also fulfill the congressional mandate embodied in both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, to eliminate employment discrimination. Senator JAVITS. I have known Mr. Sibal for years as a Congressman and as a lawyer, and I have talked with him at great length. I am satisfied, unless something comes out of the hearings, that he will make an excellent General Counsel for this deeply troubled agency, EEOC, the position to which he has been nominated. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Schweiker? Senator SCHWEIKER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Once again, I am in the very unique position of knowing quite well the nominee. I went to the House with Congressman Sibal and know his background and expertise and philosophy. I would say the administration really could not have picked a better man for this position. I, too, am concerned with the thing the chairman has said. I think he has raised some very valid concerns that we are all concerned about. I think, in picking Mr. Sibal, we picked the best man to solve these problems. I really have nothing further to say except I am glad to see Abner willing to undertake it and do it. I know he will do it well, and it needs to be done well. I will end my speech on that note. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Taft? Senator TAFT. Mr. Chairman, I also had the privilege of serving with the nominee in the House of Representatives, particularly with him on items relating to civil rights, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I think he is extremely well qualified to undertake what I consider to be a very difficult task as I have previously discussed with him. I think it is a major challenge and I share the expressed feelings that he is a man well qualified to undertake these challenges, and I wish him every good wish. I would urge him to stay in touch with all of us on the committee, to call on us in any way that we can try to back him up in order to bring this agency to the fulfillment of the role which it was designed to carry out. In some ways, many of us are disappointed in the past record, and we, as a committee, want to help him succeed. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Taft. We have had no requests for opportunities to testify at this hearing, so you are going it alone. I would like to know how you perceive the role of the General C sel at the EEOC and what relationship do you see that office havi the chairman of the agency, the other Commissioners and other p level members of that agency? STATEMENT OF ABNER W. SIBAL, NOMINEE FOR GENERAL C SEL, EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Mr. SIBAL. Mr. Chairman, I would view the job of General Cou as being one that cannot function properly except in close coopera with the chairman and the other Commissioners. As a matter of fact, before I agreed to accept the very flatter nomination that the President offered, I indicated it would be essential, I thought, for me to have a long talk with the chairman, was then the chairman designate, which we did. I think I can fairly say we both recognize that it is very import that we have a working relationship which is smooth and one understanding of each other's problems and one that recognizes t the Commission has a major problem ahead, as your opening statem clearly outlined. I view the job as being one of great responsibility in terms of bri ing credibility to the agency, in terms of enforcing in a very pro sional way title VII, in terms of moving the caseload expeditiou although carefully, in terms of picking the cases that need to be tr and preparing them in a way which will develop the case law in ti VII clearly, which is a service, in my view, not only to the people w feel discriminated against and are discriminated against in many are but also to the employers who are entitled to know where they sta and entitled to know what the results are and what the law is. I feel that a responsibility to both segments to proceed in a ve direct way to bringing this very important title into focus in a w that is generally understood. The CHAIRMAN. I should have mentioned that, informally, I ha been called on by friends and other professional associates of yours support of your nomination. I should have mentioned that earlier. I wonder if, in your law practice, you had any direct experience handling cases under title VII? Mr. SIBAL. I was involved in one major case, which I resigned from still a pending case, which I resigned from at the time I agreed accept the nomination, about the first of May. I have been involved only in an advisory capacity with some client in such things as affirmative action programs and general requirement advising companies as to what the law requires them to do in terms o minority hiring and sex and so forth. The CHAIRMAN. You say you have withdrawn? Mr. SIBAL. I withdrew long before my nomination reached the Sen ate, Senator. The minute I knew I would be probably before you som day, I withdrew from the case. The CHAIRMAN. I mentioned the methods of enforcement specifically the class action approach in the individual cases. I wonder if you have any views on the nature of title VII enforce ment? It is a difficult question to ask, but I would like to get a feel for |